


Home is Where the Hearth is

by mysterioustrumpet



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angsty Lio Fotia, Established Relationship, Galo Thymos Being an Idiot, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, POV Third Person, galolio, god i love them, headcanon that lio likes spicy food, i can add 'men's lingerie' to my search history now, i don't know how i managed to pump this out in one setting but shrug, i saw promare in theatres and this is what happened, it's not pretty, liogalo, this happens like a month after the events of the movie?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21728470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysterioustrumpet/pseuds/mysterioustrumpet
Summary: Galo notices that Lio is feeling down about something so he tries to cheer him up in various ways. Cue hijinks.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 6
Kudos: 128





	Home is Where the Hearth is

**Author's Note:**

> You look like you could use someone who knows how to handle a hose ;))

When Galo Thymos woke up that morning, everything was right with the world. The sun was shining outside, the birds were chirping, and he’d spent another night next to his wonderful boyfriend. Galo slowly sat up in bed, rubbed at his eyes to get the sleep out of ‘em, and reached his arms high over his head as he yawned. A smile tugged at his lips when he looked to his left. Lio’s back faced him from where Lio sat on the edge of the bed. Galo grinned, scootched closer, and gently rested his lips on Lio’s bare shoulder.

“Mornin’,” Galo murmured, closing his eyes.

Galo felt Lio’s head turn slightly. “Uh, yeah. Morning.” 

Galo opened his eyes as Lio stood from the bed, walking to the chair in the corner of the room and pulling on one of Galo’s shirts. The whole time he kept his back to Galo. “You gonna’ make breakfast?”

Lio made his way to the door but paused at the last second. “Huh? Oh. Yeah. Um, I’ll make some eggs.”

Galo frowned as Lio left the room. Normally, Galo was a guy who trusted his gut. His gut told him a lot of things. It’d told him his path in life. It’d helped him get out of some bad relationships in the past. And right now, Galo’s gut was telling him that something was wrong with Lio.

But maybe Lio was just tired? They  _ had _ been up pretty late last night, Galo recalled. He shrugged, got out of bed to put some clothes on, and headed to the kitchen where the smell of cooking was coming from. 

The sight of Lio standing at the stove, the oversized shirt hanging off his small frame and his bedhead hair sticking up in every direction, made Galo’s chest unexpectedly tight. The need to be next to Lio pulled in Galo’s gut, and he walked over to wrap his arms around Lio’s waist from behind. Galo rested his chin on Lio’s shoulder, just watching Lio as he cooked and enjoying the way he could feel Lio’s breathing. The need in Galo’s gut tugged harder, and he turned his head to press his lips against Lio’s neck. 

“Yeah, good morning,” Lio muttered, flipping the eggs in the pan. Galo continued his kisses, lingering longer with each one and traveling higher up Lio’s neck until he was almost at Lio’s ear, which Galo knew Lio couldn’t resist.

“Galo,” Lio said.

“Mm?” Galo placed another kiss right at the spot where Lio’s ear met his head.

Lio shivered, but he pushed Galo away. “Not now, Galo. I’m not in the mood.”

Galo blinked. “Oh, okay.” Galo studied Lio’s face. His eyebrows were low over his eyes, and a muscle twitched in his jaw. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Lio muttered. “Just a bit tired.”

Hm. Should Galo press it? His gut was telling him something was probably wrong. But if Lio said he was just tired, then that’s probably was it was. Galo grinned and tried to lighten the mood. “Hehe, okay. Maybe next time we shouldn’t be up all night.”

Lio was silent for a beat before answering. “Right.”

They ate breakfast in relative silence, with the TV giving them an overview of the news for the day. Galo tried to catch Lio’s eye more than once, but Lio’s gaze was fixed on the screen in front of them. By the time Lio was getting ready to go to work, Galo was feeling a little worried. But if Lio said he was tired, then Galo should trust that. Yeah. He was just tired. 

“What do you want for dinner tonight?” Galo asked as Lio was putting on his shoes.

Lio took a moment to answer again. “Um . . . I dunno’. You choose something.”

Galo’s face lit up. “How about some Inferno Volcano Margherita Mega Max Pizza? We haven’t had it in a while!”

Lio zipped up his boots and stood up. “No thanks. I’m not in the mood for pizza. Anyway, I’m going to work now. I’ll see you later.”

Due to Galo’s shocked, gaping mouth at Lio’s words, he was unable to get in a word of reply before Lio closed the door. Silence rang out in the apartment, until Galo broke out of his frozen stupor. “HUH?!?! Not in the mood for  _ Inferno Volcano Margherita Mega Max Pizza??  _ That’s impossible!!”

Galo flopped himself on the ground with a pout. Something was  _ definitely _ up with Lio.

* * *

“Guys!! Guys, guys, listen!” Galo burst through into the common room, immediately getting everyone’s attention.

“Mornin’, Galo!” Varys called, his voice booming throughout the room. “Whatcha’ in such a hurry for?”

“Something’s wrong with Lio,” Galo said. “He was in a weird mood this morning, and he’s been avoiding me all day. And! And get this! He doesn’t want the Inferno Volcano Margherita Mega Max Pizza for dinner! Which is crazy!! He loves that pizza!”

“Jeez, Galo, he’s allowed to like more than one type of dish,” Lucia commented, lazily swinging herself back and forth in her chair.

Galo mussed his hair as he ground his teeth together. “Hnghghgh. I can tell something’s wrong, though!”

“Guys, let’s listen to Galo.” Aina looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh, but Galo appreciated her attempt to take him seriously. “What do you think is wrong?”

Galo took a seat on the couch across from Remi with a sigh. “Well, Lio says he’s just tired, and that could be it. We were up for most of the night.” Lucia held out a fist-bump. Galo complied.

“Well, if he says he’s tired then he’s probably just tired,” Remi said, setting down his coffee. “If he doesn’t want to say what’s bothering him, there’s not much you can do.”

“Yeah, but I can at least try and make him feel better.” Galo crossed his arms over his chest. “I hate seeing him like this.”

“How about you make him a really fancy meal?” Varys suggested. “He likes spicy stuff, right?”

“Well, yeah,” Galo said. He took a sip of the coffee that Aina handed to him. “But I don’t have the best cooking skills. Lio’s been teaching me some stuff, but I only know the basics.”

Remi cleared his throat. “You could try seducing him.” 

Galo choked on his drink, spluttering and dripping coffee everywhere. “Wh-what?!”

Remi shrugged, his face passive and casual as if he had said, “you could try holding his hand”. “What? That’s a way of cheering him up.”

“I don’t think that’s what Galo’s looking for,” Lucia snickered. “Lio used to be Burnish, so why don’t you set Lio on fire?”

“That’s an even worse suggestion!!” Galo yelled.

“I know!” Aina said, her face lighting up. “Take him on a date!”

Galo frowned. “Huh?”

Aina rolled her eyes in good nature. “You guys haven’t been a date in a while, right? You can use this as an opportunity to show Lio how you feel about him!”

“Huh.” Galo blinked. “That might actually be a good idea.”

* * *

Lio’s mood persisted for the rest of the week. He’d come home from work, eat a few bites of dinner, if he ate at all, and head straight to bed. He was avoiding Galo as well, going to sleep before Galo did, and waking up before Galo so he could head to work right away. Galo managed to convince Lio to join him for an outing on Friday night, and when that night came, Galo hoped it would go well.

“We’re here!” Galo said, gesturing to the sign above downtown Promepolis. Galo had been lucky, in that a festival was happening right now so there were tons of food stands, merchant booths, and colorful lights set up. The lights around them shone on Lio’s face, which still looked sad and downcast. “I was thinkin’ we could walk around a bit before dinner.”

Lio shrugged. “Sure.” 

The two of them walked side by side, taking in the sights around them and admiring the different wares that were being sold. Art pieces, homemade jewelry, food from different countries around the world. There was even a face-painting stall, which Galo really wanted to try. But by looking at Lio’s face again, pain squeezed Galo’s heart. He hated seeing Lio so sad. He wanted Lio to smile and be happy, but Galo didn’t even know what was wrong.

At one point they passed by a glass-blowing store. The storefront allowed the two of them to see inside, where the owners would inflate the glass in the furnace so that it glowed with a white-hot light. They watched for a few minutes as one of the glassblowers demonstrated in front of a small crowd, before Galo started to move along. As he walked away from the store window, however, he realized that Lio wasn’t following.

“Lio?” Galo turned around.

Lio stood still in front of the store, a faraway look in his eyes as he watched the glass blowers. He was transfixed, his gaze never once leaving the sight of the heated glass as it came out of the furnace. Standing there, with the purple and red festival lights casting a slight glow on him, Galo thought he’d never seen Lio more beautiful. But at the same time, Lio looked . . . alone. He looked small and sad and lost. More pain squeezed in Galo’s chest, and he quickly walked back over.

“Lio?” he murmured. “Are you alright?”

Lio blinked and shook his head, as if coming out of a trance. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”

Galo looked over at the finished glass pieces standing in the store’s window. They were really impressive pieces, with one of them being a dragon of some kind. “Did you want a glass piece? I can get one for you if you like.”

Lio gave him a confused look. “Huh? Why would you think that?”

Galo frowned. “Uh, ‘cuz you’ve been staring at them for the last five minutes.”

Lio heaved a rough sigh. “No, I don’t want a glass piece, Galo. Let’s just . . . go get dinner and then go home.”

Lio walked away from the store, leaving Galo to follow behind him and wonder how in the world he could cheer his boyfriend up.

***

“This is a dumb idea. This is a  _ really _ dumb idea. Right? Yeah, it’s dumb. I shouldn’t do it.” Galo sighed. “But maybe? Ugh. I’ll just do it.”

Galo pulled the clothing pieces out of the bag. If it were for any other reason, Galo would be absolutely down to wear them. Galo had no problem putting on stuff like this when he was in the mood for it. But he could feel in his gut that this was a bad idea. Seducing Lio was  _ not _ the way to get him to cheer up. But Galo was at the end of his rope. He sighed again, took off his clothes, and put on the tight blue underwear and red suspenders.

“I’m gonna’ regret this,” he muttered.

Almost as soon as he was done getting the outfit on, Galo heard the keys jangling outside the door. He hopped from one foot to the other, his mind scrambling for the right kind of pose to do, but it was too late. The door was opening, so Galo struck a power pose in the middle of the room, his fists on his hips and a wide smile on his face.

Lio took a step inside. 

“W-welcome home!” Galo stammered, forcing himself to be confident. “You look like you could use someone who’s good at handling a hose. Heh. Get it?”

Lio looked down. He looked back up. Then he stepped back outside and closed the door.

“AAGHGHGH!!!!!” Galo screamed, crouching down and scratching at his head. “I knew that wouldn’t work!!!! I’m such an idiot!!”

* * *

When Galo went into work on Monday, he laid himself down on the common room couch with a pout.

“Galo! How did it go with Lio?” Aina asked, looking up from her video game.

“Bad,” Galo muttered.

“You took him out on a date, right?” she said.

“Yep,” he replied, popping the ‘P’. “Didn’t work. I even tried doing what Remi said.”

“Oh?” Remi pushed up his glasses. “And?”

“He took one look at me and went home. I haven’t seen him since Saturday.”

Remi winced. “Sorry, Galo. I thought that would help.”

“But you still haven’t set him on fire?” Lucia asked, talking around a lollipop.

“For the last time, Lucia, that’s a terrible idea! Why would you even suggest that?!” Galo yelled, sitting up and glaring at her.

“Hey, I’m just spitballing! Lio used to be Burnish, right? So he’s probably missing the Promare, or something!” she yelled in response. She flopped back in her chair and spun herself around. “I dunno’. Maybe it’s something else entirely.”

Galo blinked. He remembered how Lio had looked as he’d been standing in front of the glassblower’s storefront. He’d been staring at something, but what if instead of staring at the glass, he’d been staring at the furnace? Did Lio miss being able to control fire? 

An idea popped in Galo’s head and he sprang to his feet. “Wait, that’s it! Lucia, you’re a genius! Ignis, I’m skipping work for today! I’ll make it up tomorrow!”

Ignis nodded. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Galo started sprinting out of the fire station, with Lucia’s voice calling out after him, “Don’t actually set him on fire, Galo!!”

* * *

Galo almost didn’t finish in time. He had just finished putting everything in position when he got a text from Lio saying he was coming over. Giving everything one last check to make sure it was in place, Galo turned off all the lights and stood in the kitchen, waiting for his boyfriend to open the door.

It didn’t take very long. The keys sounded in the lock and Lio came in to see a room that was completely dark. He flipped the switch, sighing and muttering something under his breath when the lights stayed off. “Galo, I’m here.”

_ Now! _ Galo pressed the button on the remote and watched as the room began to light up. One by one the lightbulbs strung around the room began to turn on, with alternating colors of magenta, orange, and cyan. Soon the whole room was filled with dim lighting. The bulbs were specially made to look like there were flames inside them, so the lights flickered around the room. The speaker next to Galo’s TV turned on, with a subtle sound of a crackling fireplace. In the center of the room stood a small space heater that turned on last, glowing orange and red and pumping out warmth. 

“Galo . . .,” Lio murmured, taking a step inside and closing the door behind him. “What is all this?”

Galo walked out from the kitchen to stand in front of Lio. “You’ve been feeling down lately. We both know that. You’ve missed the Promare, haven’t you?”

Lio looked away, and he took a moment before answering. “Almost my whole life, I’ve had it with me. It was like another existence lived inside me. I could feel everything it was feeling, and I heard its cries. So now that it’s gone, I . . . I guess I’m not used to feeling so empty.” He paused, looking back up at Galo with a worried expression. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to burden you with―”

“Shh,” Galo interrupted. Gently, he took Lio’s face between his hands and leaned down to place a soft kiss on his lips. When he pulled back, it took a second for Lio to open his eyes. “You’re not a burden. I want to be there for you. I want to hear about what’s bothering you, and maybe I can help. If you want me to.”

Lio’s chin trembled. He reached up, threw his arms around Galo’s neck, and pulled him down for another kiss. Galo embraced him, bringing them closer together as he wrapped his arms around Lio. The pain in Galo’s chest subsided, blooming into the bliss that he always felt when he was with Lio. 

“Do you want to sit by the fire?” Galo asked when they pulled apart.

“You mean the space heater?” Lio corrected, a smirk on his face.

Galo grinned. “Well, I couldn’t start an  _ actual _ fire, could I?”

Lio laughed. “No. I guess you couldn’t.”

Hand-in-hand, the two sat down by the heater and talked about their days. And all was right with the world.

**Author's Note:**

> THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, I LOVE GALOLIO


End file.
